Straightforward enough except for 26ac which took me ages to sort out and may well be wrong.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | SHAMROCK: SHAM + ROCK |
| 5 | ACCORD: ACCORD(ion) losing I and ON, one and on taken off |
| 9 | RATIONAL: RATION on A L (a learner’s plate) |
| 10 | LIVERY: double definition |
| 12 | PREVARICATE: anagram of PRIVATE CARE |
| 15 | ELLIS: ELL + IS (Ellis Bell was the pen-name of Emily Bronte) |
| 17 | GENTLEMAN: GENT + LEMAN (paramour) |
| 18 | STAGE PROP: anagram of STOPPAGE R |
| 19 | RAILS: double definition |
| 20 | MISANTHROPE: anagram of ISNT A HOPE MR |
| 24 | ALBION: ALB + I + ON |
| 25 | BRIDGEND: BRIDGE + ND (not dated) |
| 26 | BRONTE: are we looking at Creeks here? Eleanor Creek (California), Lawrence Creek (Oklahoma) and Bronte Creek (Canada) |
| 27 | ASSENTED: ASS + ENTED (‘entered’ without the hesitation ‘er’) |
| Down | |
| 1 | STRIPTEASE: anagram of PIRATES SET |
| 2 | AT THE ALTAR: where those undertaking marriage vows meet |
| 3 | RHODA: HOD in RA |
| 4 | CHARING CROSS: anagram of CHAIR + NG + CROSS |
| 6 | CHISELLER: double definition |
| 11 | SAINT PANCRAS: anagram of TRANS CASPIAN |
| 13 | OMNIPOTENT: OM (order of merit) + anagram of IN TOP TEN |
| 14 | UNASCENDED: anagram of NUDE DANCES |
| 16 | STEAMBOAT: S (second) + TEAM (XI) + O in BAT |
| 23 | HEDGE: H + EDGE |
26Ac is Eleanor BRON + T.E. Lawrence.
12a: I found the anagram PREVARICATE quite easily, but only put the word in reluctantly after I had all the connecting letters, not realising that ‘use deceit’ is an obsolete meaning of the word; the more usual modern sense is ‘act or speak evasively’ – not quite the same thing!
Some really good surface meanings and nice &lits: I liked 18a, 20a particularly.
Got 15ac first,Ellis (bell) which made 26ac easy. However it took me an age to get 2dn.
I tentatively had AT THE DEATH for 2dn until evidence from the crossing words convinced me otherwise. I don’t think much of the clue – “undertaking” isn’t particularly associated with wedding vows, is it?
12a: Like Geoff was thrown by unusual def for ‘prevaricate’. Same fodder was used in yesterday’s Telegraph, which eased matters.
I liked the Flemish city being spelt GENT rather than the Belgian Ghent (the French spelling I think).
I really enjoyed this one. Some really good clues, I thought, especially 20ac and 11dn. I wasn’t so put out by 2dn [vows are ‘undertakings’] as by 10ac: I hadn’t come across ‘livery’ in the secondary [‘liverish?’]sense.
I agree with Eileen vows are ‘undertakings’. The Book of Common Prayer – in a rather daunting introduction to the Solemnization of Matrimony advises that marriage should not be taken in hand, unadvisedly … ‘Undertaking’ seems a reasonable shorthand for ‘taken in hand’.